


Connvember Drabbles

by Hadithi



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, happy fall yall, i'm shipper trash, just fluff probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-01-20 15:30:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 11,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21283988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hadithi/pseuds/Hadithi
Summary: Sub-500 word connverse drabbles for November.There's a connvember prompt sheet for daily connverse stuff by Mauvue on Tumblr.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 439
Kudos: 328





	1. Autumn

“Steven’s got a surprise for you,” Priyanka said, grinning at Connie’s baffled look. “He had to run it by me to get permission. Be back by dinner. Be responsible. Have fun.”

She opened the door, and there was Steven on his noble steed. Connie looked back and forth between her shockingly happy mother and her best friend, struggling to understand what surprise could need her mother’s permission, or take all day, or why Steven would go through so much trouble to surprise her at all. But confusion gave way to excitement, and she thanked her mom as she rushed out the door.

“What’s going on?” she asked as his hand took hers.

“Can’t I just want to surprise you?” he teased as he helped her up onto Lion’s back. “A lot of this relies on Lion, so it depends on how much he’s willing to work with us.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist with a nod. “Oh! We’re doing gem stuff. That explains it.”

He shook his head. “Earth stuff. Okay, Lion, first stop, please!”

A roar, a portal, and they were high on a cliff overlooking the lovely fall foliage. They were still in Delmarva from the looks of it, just further inland, but Connie’s breath caught all the same as she stared. Everything was red and yellow and orange, the trees spreading a sunset across the valley as the sun shined high overhead. The world was cold fire, still and chilly in the untouched, northeastern woods.

He kissed her softly on the cheek and brought her back to him. She beamed. “Are you taking me on a romantic nature tour?”

Steven babbled, “And a picnic! I have a map of the US with some of the best places to see in the fall, but we don’t have to see them all. We can do anything you like!” He stopped himself, reddening a little. “I know you don’t like sappy stuff. I can stop if you hate it.”

“No! It’s perfect!” She hugged him tight, rocking back and forth in her excitement. “Oh my gosh, it’s perfect. Did I forget an anniversary or something?”

“No, we’ve only been dating for eighty-six days. It’s not special.” Connie pulled back to give him a look and he blushed. “I’ve got to count the days so I can do something special for one hundred. That’s not important. I just saw a bunch of pretty fall stuff online and I wanted to show you. So…Happy fall?”

Connie sighed, resting her head on his shoulder as she soaked in the beauty. “Happy autumn, Steven.”


	2. Nap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I started on the second. Two of these today!

Connie sleeps at his house a lot.

She doesn't sleepover very much. She just falls asleep. He's kind of impressed by it. When everything gets slow and there's not much to do, when he starts watching whatever's on TV, Connie finds a spot and sleeps - even if it's just a pillow in front of the fire. She can do it at any time of day, anywhere she is, even when she's riding lion with him. Even when they're going to face down the Diamond authority.

"How do you do that all the time?" he asks her one day as they lounge on his bed.

She points out, "You fell asleep when we were on Homeworld."

"I had to," he says. "And I was exhausted."

She shrugs. "I'm tired a lot too. I just go to sleep whenever I've got the free time.”

“Free time,” he murmurs, looking at overloaded backpack on the floor. “Not a lot of that with all the AP courses, right?”

“Not really.” She groans and her head hits the pillow with a soft wumph. “I’m sorry, Steven. I’m trying to spend time with you! I just get really tired and the next thing I know I’ve spent an hour crashed on your couch.”

“Or the floor,” he says with a laugh. “You could use my bed, you know.”

“I don’t want to sleep at all,” she argues. “I want to be awake with you.”

He kisses her forehead. “We can nap together.”

“We’re not supposed to do that anymore,” Connie says. “My parents get mad.”

“They just don’t want it to be, you know.” He blushes. “And it’s not. So what’s the big deal?”

“If they don’t ask, it’s not a lie,” she says slowly, convincing herself. She's always been good at that. She kicks off her shoes and he kicks off his, and the two of them shuffle under the covers. They don’t cuddle - that’s just a bit _too _rebellious at the moment, but it’s enough just to feel the heat of another person at their side. They’re busy and tired and there’s no parents around to protest, so they nap.

It’s a nice afternoon.


	3. First Date

“That was our first date?” Connie yelped, hands coming up to tangle in her hair. “I didn’t know that! I thought we were just hanging out!”

Steven laughed. “Yeah, that’s what dating is. We said we wanted to date, so now we do all the same stuff. Only now, I’m not the only one thinking of them as dates.”

“I didn’t think of it as a date, so it didn’t count. We’ll have to have a do-over.” She crossed her arms and thought hard. “We’ll have to schedule it on a day that it’s going to rain, because that’s romantic. We can go to a fancy restaurant. I could buy you ro-no, flowers. What’s your favorite flower?”

“Daffodils.” He grinned. “Yours?”

“I’ve never thought about it!” she gasped, eyes wide. “I’m completely unprepared for a romantic relationship. I didn’t study! I always skipped those parts in my books! I’ll have to find some materials.”

He giggled and put his hands on her shoulders. “Oooor, we can be Steven and Connie and we can keep doing everything we were doing and _sometimes_ have big romantic moments.”

“Oh.” She stared at him for a moment. “You sure? I know you love schmaltz.”

“Steak is great, but most nights you just want a burger.” He laughed. “Let's just be extra romantic on date number two.”


	4. Bubble

Connie’s second cousin had gotten married over the weekend. She'd flown out across the country to see them, and Steven was much too busy to come, which she really didn't mind. But, at the wedding were hundreds of tiny bubble jars. They blew bubbles on the happy couple as they left the altar, which was sappy and silly but cute, and Connie's mind drifted to Steven back in Beach City. She collected the bottles after the ceremony and asked if she could keep them. Her cousin was just thrilled he wouldn’t have to throw them all away.

So Connie was in possession of 287 tiny bubble jars, which she dumped eagerly onto the beach sand in front of Steven. His eyes went bright and round at the sight of them. “What do we do with these?”

“Blow bubbles.” She smirked.

“So many bubbles,” he whispered in awe.

They listened to music and blew bubbles on the beach for hours. Which was, admittedly, a weird way to spend an afternoon at thirty-six and thirsty-seven years old, but a good one.


	5. Rainfall

They come back from a desert and it’s raining.

Even inside Steven goes from hot to blissfully cold as the rain and wind chills Beach City to its heart. It’s not a bad storm, just a little rain, and he cheers as he rushes out, tumbling onto the beach while the gems do whatever it is they do after his missions. He’s too busy to care. Everything is cold and wet and wonderful and he whoops delightedly as he spins in the downpour.

Then he stops short.

Connie’s there.

He didn’t expect to see her again after the whole “trapped at the bottom of the ocean” thing. He thought she’d be like everyone else - an awkward talk, a weird goodbye, the end. No new friend to take on adventures or talk about normal life. He was stuck with the people who worked on the boardwalk. The ones who had to be there.

His heart pounds in his chest as he walks up to her. “Connie?”

She turns to him and beams. She’s been out here long enough to be drenched from head to toe, her glasses foggy with water drops and humidity, her fingers trembling just a little from the cold. Not bad shivers, just little ones from lots of fun outdoors. She rushes up to him. “Steven! I came to see you!”

“Me?” he whispers.

“Of course! Who else?”

The rain keeps pouring, but Steven’s life is all sunshine.


	6. Future

“Okay, Garnet,” Steven said, looking at the infamously short spoken gem with all the firmness he could muster. His birthday had just passed and he was struggling to think about things other than Connie in a red dress. Which was especially frustrating because what kind of basic, appearance obsessed person was he that a dress could make him view his best friend so very differently? But, on the other hand, there was a lot of slow dancing.

He pushed those thoughts away and focused on the present, while Garnet looked to the future. “I need you to tell me how to make Connie date me.”

“I can’t.”

“You can see the future!” he cried. “Garnet, what’s the path where Connie and I start dating? Am I on it? I turned into a baby in front of her and I don’t think that’s going to help.”

“Do your best.”

“Garnet!” he wailed. “Please? I don’t know how to stop thinking about her! I keep trying to play games or read or go outside and all I think of is how I can get Connie to go out on a date with me! How do I make it happen?”

“You don’t,” she said. “Just be yourself.”

Steven grumbled, storming out of the house. Pearl asked serenely from her spot on the floor, “She asks him out first in every future, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah.”


	7. Homeworld

Connie was so outside of the gem caste system that she was free to sit on his throne as much as she wanted, in front of whoever she wanted. No one cared when his pet sat beside him during a ball, or if she rested in the empty throne room while he went about his busy day. That was the usual place he found her, often in some kind of crown. Today she had gone all out, with his birthday crown atop her head and cape around her shoulders, laying on her belly as she studied.

“Peasant,” she drawled as he entered. “Fetch me some grapes. Your queen is hungry.”

“Uh huh.” He grinned. “Having fun?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Fun? What is _fun_? I only know that I am a queen without grapes. It ruins the aesthetic.”

He laughed and hopped up on the throne beside her. “Sorry you’ve had to make your own fun with me being busy. You know, you don’t have to come with me.”

“I don’t like you coming here on your own.” Her fingers fiddles with the thin, glossy page of her textbook as she mumbled, “I don’t like thinking of you alone with them. With _her_.”

“She won’t do it again, Connie,” he promised. “I wouldn’t let her if she tried. I know how to block her now. You don’t have to sit on my throne and wait for me to come back.”

She twisted to hug him tight, her ear resting against his beating heart. “I’ll get there some day. For now, can we just go back to being silly? Queen Connie, King Steven, grapes and chocolate?”

“In a minute,” he said, and hugged her back.


	8. Role Reverse

Steven loved it way, way too much when she wore his clothes. Every time her shirt got dirty and she slipped on a star t-shirt his heart would start pounding and he just had to hope he was acting totally normal. When she went home in bright blue and blazing yellow, and he thought about everyone on the way seeing her in his shirt, every part of him buzzed with delight.

“What’s wrong with me?” he groaned to Pearl. “She’s not me! I don’t want her to be me! It’d be weird if she was a Steven clone but she… I…”

“Well, there’s a couple possibilities I can think of. The first is that you’re a Diamond and you feel Connie belongs in your court. You have attached your court to the star symbol, and her wearing it fulfills some remnant Diamond programming to make gems and add them to your court.”

“Yeah.” He gave her a deadpan look. “Not a fan. What’s the other idea?”

She smirked. “You’re just in love with Connie and find it attractive when she wears your clothes. She’s _your_ Connie, isn’t she?”

His face reddened as he groaned. His jacket came up over her head and he hid beneath it as he pressed to the table. “Why did I tell you about that? Why do I tell you anything?”

She rubbed his back. “We could find you one of her more common outfits. Want to see if she reacts to you in a blue skirt and a white blouse?”

“No,” he muttered. She kept rubbing, and he admitted, “Kind of.”

* * *

Connie stopped, staring at him for a moment. Slowly, she pointed to his outfit. “Is that… Did I leave that here?”

“Nope. Just thought you’d like it.” He grinned and did a twirl. Maybe she would like it as much as he did after all. Maybe he wouldn't have to feel so weird. “Because you wear my clothes all the time.”

“You’re so cute!” Her eyes lit up and she squealed, tackling him into the sand.

He laughed, putting his elbows down and floating a little to cushion the very aggressive tackle. Not exactly the reaction he was looking for, but she seemed so happy he couldn't help but be happy too. “Okay. I can settle for cute.”


	9. Past

“Talk about something,” Steven murmured, head resting in her lap.

She was playing with his hair. Lots of people played with his hair - people loved asking for permission to spring his curls or pat them, but the novelty of that had long worn off on Connie. Her fingers got all tangled up, rubbing little circles on his scalp until the world faded away, and she seemed content to listen to the sound of waves and chat while he de-stressed.

“About what?”

“Mmm… something you’re really nerdy about, so you can talk a lot.”

She giggled, dipping down to kiss his nose. “Oh? Should I tell you a tale from long ago? The driest history story you can imagine? I think I’ve got some fascinating stuff about Ancient Sumerian trade routes.”

He purred. “That sounds _amazing_.”

She snorted. “Steven, are you trying to get me to bore you to sleep?”

“Yes.” He grinned up at her. “But with love. And head scratches.”

“What if I tell a funny one so you have to stay awake with me?” Her eyes lit up. “Oh! I have one. I haven’t told you the one about the Cleveland Pilgrims and Eleven Cent Beer Night?”

“No. What year was that? 1925?”

“Well, that’s Prohibition, so no. It was 1975, and the typical price of beer in that stadium was 66 cents.”

“Oh no,” he said, already starting to smile.

“Oh, yes.” She bent her fingers and pretended to wash his hair like in a salon. He hummed in bliss. “Let’s teach you some history.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing peaceful little drabbles. This is my happy place.


	10. Rose/Flower

“You have a greenhouse,” Connie says, walking around the dome. Her fingers flit over the semitransparent crystal as she considers this. “Not on purpose, but, you know, I bet it’d work as one.”

“So I should fill it up with flowers from far away?” He grins. “An exotic alien greenhouse?”

He eyes light. “I’ll fill it with earth plants, so you have something nice to come home to!”

She brings a brassavola orchid, simple and pretty and one of the easiest orchids to grow. It flourishes from the briefest moments with him, his fingers sparkling pink as he softly traces the white leaves. He brings a few pots of hibiscus, and Connie asks if she can try her hand as making tea with them, since there’s so many.

A busy month passes. They see each other for fun for only brief moments. They see each other for serious things more. Steven is busy with the empire, and she helps however she can. Her life is busy too, and he helps however he can. When they can finally schedule an afternoon together, she brings dendronioum orchids. He brings an alien flora he calls a hollow cube plant. She’s enraptured as he describes forests of it. He gushes at the hibiscus tea she’s made, and she tells him about experiments with dandelions and mint and strange spices in her cabinets.

Time slips, and the portal room fills with flowers from across the galaxy, from their tiny little planet. When she studies there, it’s humid, and waiting for him to appear makes her feel like she’s hiding in an outpost deep in the rainforest. It’s silly to pretend and makeup stories when she regularly adventures like she’s in one, but her mind always seemed to drift to stories whenever she’s been studying for too long.

He flips through her AP Chemistry textbook and tries idly to pick some up. It never works much. It’s her world, and the things she’s learning are no longer things he needs to learn. Admittedly, they are unlikely things she needs to learn either. Her schoolwork is starting to baffle him, and that does hurt a little, but they’re falling deeper and deeper into politics, so there’s little time to think about that.

He murmurs, “It’s getting really pretty in here. Is that why you chose orchids?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to buy you _roses_, Steven.”

He laughs until his sides hurt and she does the same.


	11. Coffee Shop

“I don’t really like coffee,” he confessed. “Even the really sugary drinks! Every time I drink it I want a milkshake instead.”

“It’s not really about the coffee,” she told him as they turned into the parking lot. She had just turned fifteen, and, technically, Steven was not old enough to be her supervising driver. However, Connie was adamant that the age of his gem counted for half, and they could split the difference in age. So she was driving him to Ocean Town, a week before his birthday, for a coffee date.

Steven ducked his head, carefully reading the sign, “Toe Beans Cat Cafe. Ocean Town got a cat cafe?”

She giggled. “Lars almost told you last weekend and I basically had to tackle him to the ground before he could ruin it. I thought for sure you’d find out from social media, but we really lucked out.”

“This is such a good surprise!” he said, and then his eyes widened. “Wait, you didn’t-”

“Happy early birthday!” she cheered. “All the profits here go towards helping animal shelters. I’ve got fifty dollars that we can use to sponsor any two cats you want, and you dad bought out the room, so we can drink as much as we want and all our friends can drink as much as they want and everything’s coffee and cats. They’ll be here in about an hour. You’ve got some time to get it together.”

Steven wiped at his eyes and sniffled. “You knew I was going to cry a lot?”

“I thought you might.” She kissed the happy tear off his cheek and smiled. “I’m glad you like it. Love you, Steven.”

“I love _you_!” he cried and threw his arms around her. “You’re perfect.”

She blushed and looked at the window. “You’re just crying because you love cats.”

“And _you_!” He sniffled. “And I don’t have to drink coffee?”

“They have hot chocolate.”

“I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've also got a full weird coffee shop AU on my profile if any of you are into that and haven't seen it.


	12. Gift/Present

“Where’s your gift?” Peridot demanded. “It’s a birthday party, you’re supposed to bring a gift.”

“I have a gift,” Connie retorted. “I’m going to give it to Steven later. You can’t yell at people for not bringing gifts anyway, Peridot. You could hurt someone’s feelings.”

“Oh, and you’re an expert on birthday parties? How many have you been to?”

Connie gave a long suffering sigh. “Like that. Ouch. My feelings.”

“I apologize for hurting your feelings,” Peridot recited quickly. “Where’s your present? The presents go on the present table.”

“It’s not something that can go on the table!” Connie was starting to raise her voice now, cheeks flushing. “Just let it go! It’s not of your business!”

“You’re lying! You don’t have a present at all! I bet you forgot Steven’s birthday! It’s a classic human fumble.”

Connie growled. “It’s a song, alright? I learned to play one of Steven’s songs on ukulele but I don’t want to do it in front of anyone because I’m not that good at it! So will you can it?”

“You learned ukulele for me?”

Connie whirled around and squeaked, “Steven! Happy birthday!”

He giggled and grabbed her hand. ‘Oh my gosh, let’s go now. Peridot, tell the gems we’ll be right back.”

“Wait! I’m not ready! Maybe we should do this next week. I’m not sure-”

He leaned in to kiss her cheek. “You tried your best. I’ll love it even if it’s bad.”

“What a terrible thing to say,” she said, but her smile was bright as they went off for some privacy.


	13. Mission

"Hey, could I get a slice plain cheese to go?" Connie said cheerfully. The girl was practically walking on air as she bounced up to the counter of Fish Stew Pizza. Her wallet was already in her hand, tugging out a thin blue debit card.

"Steven's back from the mission, you know," Kiki said, slicing up pizza for her. "Aren't you going to say hi? I thought you two were dating."

She blushed a little, rubbing her cheeks. "Uh, yeah. I have to see him last or else nobody gets to see him."

Kiki giggled as she handed her the slice. "Aw, you two have to rush off to go be romantic in private?"

"If only. That'd be way easier. We've both got the self-control not to crawl all over each other. It's just magic stuff." Connie shook her head with a sad sigh.

"Then..." She looked around the empty store, just a single tourist making his way through the daily special. She had the time. "Alright, I wanna come see this. I'm taking a ten minute break, Dad!"

She grinned as her dad started shouting something, rushing out the door without checking that Connie was behind her. The younger girl squeaked as she caught up, waving the debit card. "I haven't paid yet!"

"It's on me. Come on, let's go see your boyfriend."

"I mean, I try not to until everyone has had their turn. It's kind of embarrassing when I'm waiting around," she mumbled, plodding behind Kiki. "The first few times we tried hugging, and then holding hands, and then even just a finger touch but it always... anyway, I usually wait for him to find me after he's had a long mission."

"Even better!" she chirped. "You can surprise him."

They reached the Big Donut, where there Steven was chatting up a group of gems and Lars. Connie made a nervous sound, grabbing Kiki's wrist with the not-pizza hand. "I don't think he's done. I should wait until he finds me."

"Why are you being so weird?" she laughed. "Hey, Steven, I found your girlfriend for you!"

Steven's looked over, smile going from an easy laugh to a lovesick grin. It had taken about two days for everyone to figure out the two had started dating, when Steven's concealed pining looks had turned into full adoration every moment he caught sight of her. Steven untangled himself from the group and rushed up to Connie, stopping barely an inch away. He laughed. "Hey. I missed you. Give her the pizza."

Connie giggled, rubbing the back of her neck. "I don't want to both-"

"I said hi to everyone," he said back. "And it's okay. You can come see me first. You can always come see me first."

"Then everyone else has to wait."

"Let them."

He was still lovesick smiling at her, and with that last statement she soon had a silly grin of her own to match. Connie held out the pizza to Kiki, who took it, confused as ever. Then, suddenly, the younger girl laughed and jumped forward, her legs around Steven's waist and her arms around his neck. She barely saw heard his answering cheer of joy before everything was white light.

There was Stevonnie, taking the slice from her hands with a giddy laugh. "Sorry. They miss each other real bad. Steven says hi, Kiki!"

And off they went, chatting to themselves about Steven's mission.


	14. Kiss

Saying no to things she wanted had never been Connie's strong suit, and it wasn't getting any easier. Every time they kissed Steven seemed to get exponentially better at it, which she supposed wasn't shocking. He was always good at reading her feelings, and he was paying extra close attention when they kissed.

But that didn't change the very embarrassing fact that Connie found herself regularly seduced by her boyfriend. She had never thought of herself as someone particularly prone to being seduced, a blushing maiden out of a romance novel. It was completely silly that Steven could nuzzle against her neck and gently, gently kiss the pulse point there, and immediately break her brain so that every single inch of her ached to kiss him more. She hoped it was a consequence of being a teenager.

"Someone might come looking," she said. It was such a weak protest. The island they were on was lovely and lush and private. His guardians would call or text Steven long before they showed up, and no one else had any reason to warp here. They trusted them. They trusted her. Clearly, they had no idea that Steven’s empathic skills could be used for evil, and that Connie had all the firmness of melted butter.

"We don't have to," he murmured. His voice was husky and rumbly, but she had no idea if he did it on purpose or if that was just his natural, heart-stopping voice whenever he was so desperate to kiss her stupid. "But I want to make out for a while, if you want to."

"I want to." Her voice hitched as his kisses moved up and along her jaw, his weight pressing against her, and, oh. She was suddenly on her back staring up at him. What had she been saying? Her heart fluttered in her chest as she stared up at dark eyes and curls and a sweet smile. Her hand was so warm. Ah, that was because it was already under his shirt on his soft waist.

She put up one last token resistance, just so she could tell anyone who found her that she tried her best, but he was too good at this. "I don't think my parents would like it. I think they just want us to hold hands."

He slowly leaned in, just the slightest mischievous glimmer in his eye. Steven's finger slipped under her chin, tilting her face up just a bit. She wasn't sure if it was biology or Pearl's training or something unique to her, but the feeling of him exposing her neck felt incredibly intimate and trusting, and that made everything warm and too hard to think. If she actually wanted to resist at all, she would complain that this was cheating in the same way that calling her “ma’am” was.

She stared at his lips as Steven asked, "They're not here. Who cares?"

Connie was never any good at resisting temptation, so it was extra unfair that he was so good at it. Connie was sure she was flushing, shocked to hear her own voice nearly begging, "Kiss me," before he closed the gap. No more silly thoughts about who was supposed to be the sensible one in the relationship, just temptation. Just yielding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fluff collection, not a sin collection, so this is as thirsty as it gets. But, I wouldn't be my bisexual disaster self without at least ONE kissing drabble. You're welcome, everyone.


	15. AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Under 500 words"
> 
> Oops. Here's 1200 words of fae.

When they first met, she fell in love with him immediately, and Steven knew that was his mother's power working through him. Everyone fell in love with him, and that was supposed to protect him. It was supposed to make him feel strong and safe and cared for, but it made the world as flimsy and false as the glamour that made him look like any other human child.

She kept trying to introduce herself, and the fear of having that control of her made him confess everything he wasn't supposed to. He explained that he was fae and human. He told her that he lived with three true fae. He told her about how their magic worked, the tricks and rules that humans always seemed to forget.

"You shouldn't give fae your name," he said awkwardly to the girl in the woods, who had just been about to introduce herself.

She insisted, "You have to call me something. What name has to be the secret one? First name? Last name? Family name?"

"_Your_ name," he said. "Whoever you are, don't tell me. Choose a different one."

Connie closed her eyes, thinking hard. "Kahaani. My parents call me that sometimes, but it's not what everyone knows me by."

He nodded. "Okay. No magic in that. Come on in."

She followed him into the house as he explained the rules. "Don't lie. Don't be rude. If you eat the food you'll get stuck here. Pearl says the last human dumb enough to do that ended up as her personal swordfighter."

"Right." She stared at him, looking more confused with every moment. "Sorry. I don't know why I'm in love with you, but I want to be your mother."

"I know," he said weakly. "It happens to everyone."

He took her to the beach house and introduced her to the rest of his moms. He had a lot of them, but Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst were the most. They had long ago cut through the veil and mother’s magic and seen him as he was. They teased him about collecting a mother his age and played games of half truths with Connie, showing off carefully worded statements that appeared false but were completely true. They delighted in her blatant lies, as she declared Pearl purple and the sky green.

She looked in his fridge and pulled out an apple. He yelped. "Khaani, stop!"

Connie looked him dead in the eyes as she sunk her teeth into red and gold skin, white flesh vanishing into her mouth with a crunch as awful to him as broken bone. "You have to keep me now," she said. "Those are the rules. You have to teach me swords."

Pearl laughed. "Oh, by the stars. Aren't you precocious? Why do you want to learn about swords?"

"I have to protect my son," Connie said fiercely, looking at Steven. "I love you."

He groaned. Of course she did. This was a new extreme on the mom scale, though. He had had plenty of moms pat his head or scold his clothes or tell him he needed to be careful of the big, scary world. He had never had a mom immediately demand to protect him with weaponry before. "Please, Kahaani. I just want to be friends."

She took another bite of the apple and said eagerly around the mouthful. "Swords! Adventure! Fae! Kahaani wants in!"

Garnet shrugged. "We do have to keep her. Those are the rules."

"She can learn swordfighting," Pearl said. "And, Amethyst, you can teach her resistance to magic. It can't be good for her to think of Steven as her son. She's younger than him. What’s that going to do to her psyche?"

The shorter fae pouted. "Lame, P. Steven collecting moms is the funnest thing in the past century.” Pearl was frowning, so Amethyst gave a deep, disappointed sigh. “But I guess he can lose one if it gets him a friend."

Connie whooped with joy.

* * *

Connie was in love with him, and he was sure it was his mother's magic once again. He thought that they had gotten over it, because she had so quickly forgotten that she wanted to be his mother and stepped into the role of friend. She had a knack for dealing with fae things - sidestepping magic, half-truths, sneaking around the torn edges of rules.

But Steven was the son of a fae queen, and she had been very old and very powerful when her powers passed onto him. Even with Amethyst’s training, he guessed there was no way around it. She was in love with him again, and it had to be a lie. She begged to kiss him, her fingers brushed across his skin, she looked beneath his glamor and saw his wings and pinkness and murmured, "Beautiful, I love you."

"Kahaani, you aren't," he pleaded. There was a candy bar in his hand, long forgotten in all the confessions. It was just supposed to be a movie between friends, but she confessed she had thought of it as a date. She wanted it to be a date. But she didn’t really want it, because no one ever could. "No one is in love with me. It's a spell. It's my mom. You have to fight it, remember?"

"It's you. Your kindness. Your bravery. Your humor. You, you, you. Steven, please." Her voice was on the brink of sobbing, begging him to believe her. She bore an iron sword, but he was half fae so it didn't sting as she pushed it into his free hand. The sword had been his mother’s, once, a prize possession she had tricked off a king. He had given it away but now it was back. Everything of hers always came back.

Connie continued, passionate and desperate, "No more knights! No mothers. I love you and I know it’s me. Let me love you."

"How?"

"I can give you my name," she said, stopping his heart in his chest. She should know better. It must be his mother’s magic, because no one in their right minds would give him their name. No one would say that so sweetly, so lovingly, when they knew the power he held. He stumbled back, and she stumbled forward. "You can compel me to feel how I feel, no magic at all!"

"I'd have your whole heart," he whispered. "You can't give it away."

"Too late." She grinned. There was nothing he could do to stop her, just like always. Her lips brushed against his ear. "Connie Maheswaran is yours to command."

There was magic in that, so much magic, deep and dark and cold as the empty space between star. But there was nothing to make her love him. Nothing to bind her to him. A sob slipped out, then another. He couldn’t stop as he fell to his knees and dropped his sword. She knelt beside him and he hugged her as hard as he could. "You love me."

She took his hand, guiding the forgotten candy bar to her lips, and took a bite. He stared through watery eyes, not understanding, then laughed. "I have to keep you now," he said.

She nodded. "Those are the rules."


	16. Angst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place when they're trapped in the tower, as a missing scene kind of thing. This is not an AU where they're forgotten about or left alone. So, a very brief moment of angst and worry.
> 
> Lyrics stolen from Into the Woods.

There was no way to tell how much time passed in the tower. They were children and they were cold and scared and together alone. If the sun moved like Earth, they could have counted the hours. Days. If Connie had her bag, they’d have their phones. That could give them a sense of time, at least for a while, until the batteries finally died. Instead, they measured time in parched throats and rumbling bellies. How much had they been eating? Connie started to count the calories, then stopped. That probably wasn't a good thing to know.

They had to do something, so Connie tried something Steven (even though her trying something Steven was what got them into this mess). She leaned her head on his shoulder and sang, “_Did I abuse her or show her disdain, why does she run from me?_”

Steven laughed softly and looked sadly up at the window. “_When you know she would go with you, if there only were doors._”

“Don’t skip ahead,” she chided, trying to smile. “Terrible duet etiquette.”

“That one’s too sad," he said. It wasn't a sad song, though. It was supposed to be funny. Dramatic. Steven loved laughing through that song. "Can we do No One is Alone?”

“That’s a four person song.”

“So? We can sing it anyway.” He sounded so far away, even though he was right beside her. Her stomach ached and growled, listening to him sing, “_Witches can be right. Giants can be good. You decide what’s right. You decide what’s good._”

“You’re skipping ahead still, Steven,” she whispered.

He whimpered. “Connie, I’m so hungry.”

“They’ll be here any minute. It’s gonna be okay! They won’t forget organics need food. They won’t want to leave you alone for long. They’re gonna come through the door any second, Steven, I know it.” She curled up beside him. Maybe they could nap again. Every time they napped time got fuzzier, everything was a little bit more uncertain. They just had to not think about it, never think about it, never try to put a number on the passing...minutes, surely. Just an hour or two. Right?

“How long has it been?” he asked.

“An hour, maybe two,” she lied, sounding confident.

Steven didn’t argue, but his stomach growled.


	17. Healing

After the fight, Connie was covered in bruises. Of course, she didn't notice until he pointed it out with a dull, horrified ache. Connie wasn't sturdy like him. Connie got hit and hurt so much that she would search the battlefield for straggling combatants with violet marks from head to toe before finally asking him to fix her up. There was a job to do, after all, and Connie was happy to take any pain if it meant the job was done.

He mumbled her name as he kissed the aches away, his eyes stinging as he sparkled away the pain. Connie never saw the problem in getting hurt when it was so easy for him to fix her, never seemed to focus on herself at all when there was work to be done. Sometimes, he thought the only reason she remembered to eat on missions because she thought it was her mission to feed him. He knew she didn't always remember to eat even still.

When he finished, wiping away the tears in his eyes, she snuggled up close and rubbed her hands over his back. "It's okay. _I'm_ okay. It's just a few lumps, Steven. It barely even hurts. You take such good care of me."

"What are you doing?" he said, laughing a little. "You're the one who got hurt."

"And you fixed me." She rocked him slowly. "So you're the one who needs healing now. Let me take care of you, too."


	18. Corrupted!Steven

"He's a bad Steven. He's been corrupted," Connie explained to Steven patiently. "He has to die."

"Can't you just delete him or something?" he asked, watching as Connie compelled his digital self to enter the pool and then deleted the ladder.

"No. He wouldn't get a grave if I just deleted him. Let's just leave him. He'll drown soon. I don't think the mod package messed that up. Oh! We could check on Kevin!" Connie grinned at him. "Maybe we could take him out for a minute so he can see what all his hard work paid for."

Steven smiled nervously back. "O-oh. Great! He can rejoin the family."

Connie laughed, shaking her head. "No, Steven. You let the painting goblin see the wealth they've created, but you never let them have it. They go back in the basement with a renewed sense of ennui to drive their art."

"Connie, are you okay?" Steven whispered.

"This is how you play Fake Families 3," she said, watching as the Grim Reaper appeared for the drowning corrupted Steven on screen. She clicked over to the doorless room where Kevin spent his life creating beautiful paintings to fund the Crystal Gems' extravagant home. "We can make a new Steven to make up for the one I ruined with mods."

"Maybe we should make a Connie."

"No," she said, offering no elaboration, and began work on a new Steven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I already wrote a corrupted Steven story. I'm not moseying down to angst town about it twice.


	19. Crossover

"I don't really like crossovers," Connie confessed sheepishly.

"Why not?"

"It's going to sound really weird," she said, fiddling with her pencil. Connie said that a lot lately, Steven noticed. Ever since all that weird stuff in his room, she was a lot less likely to ramble and rant about her favorite things. "I'm glad you like them. There's nothing wrong with them."

"I know," he said. "But why don't you?"

She squirmed. "I don't... It's... They're not supposed to meet. Everyone has their own world, and their own magic, and I spend the whole time wondering about the logistics. You know, how the magic and technology and dimensional travel would work. I can't enjoy it. But, it's dumb. You should like it if you want to."

And, a few weeks ago, he might have lied. He might have panicked and tried to look cool. But things were settling into a much nicer pattern. "I don't think it's weird at all. But I still like them."

She smiled. He smiled. Everything was working out nicely.


	20. Confession

“I dreamwalked,” Steven blurted. Every part of him burned with shame and guilt, eyes shut tight. “I know you asked me not to. I tried really, really hard not to. But I was homesick and I missed you and I was thinking about you before I went to bed and I dreamwalked. I’m really, really sorry, Connie.”

She made an awful sound. He _wished_ it was an angry noise. He wished she’d be furious with him. But when he peaked his eyes open her face was pressed against her knees, arms around her head, groaning with horrible embarrassment. He didn’t know what to do. He knew he had to tell her, because it wouldn’t be right to keep it a secret when she had specifically asked him not to ever dreamwalk into her head.

But now he knew why she asked him not to. Or, he knew one of the reasons why. He had _guessed_ at a lot of the reasons why, but now he _knew_. And _she_ knew that _he_ knew. So, now, everything was miserable and there was no way around it. He was supposed to go back to Homeworld soon for another trip. He was going to leave her here, alone, wallowing in her own embarrassment while he talked to the Diamonds.

And then he was going to have to try with all his power not to dreamwalk again, which means he wasn’t supposed to think about Connie before he went to sleep, despite the fact that he would be on Homeworld knowing she was back here, wallowing in her own embarrassment, and at about that point Steven’s brain short circuited into one unending, awful scream of frustration.

“I’m sorry,” she said finally.

“It’s my fault,” he argued.

“No. I…” She whined, whole body tight with humiliation and shame. “I was pretty sure it was you.”

“But you kis-”

“Yeah.”

“And I-”

“Uh huh.”

“So are we-”

“I don’t know!”

His brain went back to screaming.


	21. Rejection

“Oh, uh, no thank you,” Steven laughed nervously. “I’m nineteen. I can’t drink, and I don’t want a date.”

The person pouted at him, not entitled but clearly disappointed, and swept off into the crowd. That had been happening a lot lately, especially since he started as an alternate in Sadie’s band. After the show, night after night, people would come up to him and bat their lashes and ask him if he’d like a date or a drink and he… had not expected that in the slightest.

Sadie giggled when he told her. “Well, yeah, Steven. You’re a hot guy in a band, you’ve saved the world a million times, and word has gotten around that you’re loaded. You’re kind of Beach City’s most desirable bachelor.”

“But I’m not really… exactly…” He rubbed his neck. “I mean, we’re a romantic thing. Exclusive. We just don’t really have words for it? I’ve got a… a Connie.”

“Ooh, yeah. I’ll pass the word around that you’ve got a Connie. Everyone will know what that means.”

He picked up an amp as big as him with one hand, and flushed at a very enthusiastic, “Oh my _gosh_, you’re so incredible boy!” from the crowd. He was really never going to get used to all this positive attention. He tried to get out of the venue before there was too much more of that, or anyone else asking him out, or heaven forbid someone purring the name _Mr. Universe_ at him like that wasn’t his dad’s name. He rushed after Sadie, already packing up the van.

“But maybe you could try to pass the word around that I’ve got a…” He hesitated. “I mean, you could call her a girlfriend. We’re basically like that. But also a lot more than that. But we’re not married. I guess it’s not really a lie if-”

“Or,” she suggested with a grin, “I’ll just try to pass it around that you’re not interested in dating anyone, and we don’t give any explanation, because that’s enough. You don’t need a girlfriend to reject someone.”

He pushed the amp into the back and grinned back. “What about rejecting a lot of someones?”

“Heartbreaker,” she teased, and tossed him the keys. “Get us out of here.”


	22. Jeff

“I don’t really do parties,” Connie said with a shrug, sipping at her cold, glass bottle of lemonade. It was a couple months after Steven’s birthday, and hers was just around the corner. And Steven, with his life settling down, had just realized he’d never gone to her birthday party. She grinned as she reminisced about birthdays past. “Mom and Dad get me a few presents and cook all my favorite foods, and then we take all the gift cards and cash my family sends and we go to the book store and I buy all the best books.”

“But what about hanging out with all your friends?” he asked. “And balloons! And a DJ! And a bounce house!”

She giggled. “I don’t know if that’s what most birthdays are like, Steven. Besides, all my friends are way older than me, gems and Lars and Sadie. It would feel weird inviting them to a kid birthday party.”

“What about Jeff?”

She blinked. “What about him?”

“Well, he’s your friend, right? Wouldn’t you want him at a party?”

“Oh. I guess.” She fiddled with the bottle. “I don’t know. He… We’re not close, or anything. It’s not his fault. I’m just a lot to handle.”

He frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’m a lot of everything. Excited and eager and I talk too much about nerdy stuff. I get excited about pine needle and dandelion tea and I draw manga in class and the sword fighting is cool and all, but once you get past that I’m still just Connie.” She swirled the bottle slowly and heaved a big sigh. “And just Connie is a lot to handle.”

He thought a lot of things about that. He didn’t like the way she said just Connie. He liked just Connie. He liked her getting excited over survival stuff and he liked her drawings and he liked that she was so eager and full of enthusiasm for everything that she could drag him out of the darkest day. But none of that felt right for the moment. Because he had been there, once, with too much enthusiasm and Pearl praising him as only _occasionally obnoxious_ and the townies always looking just a little tired at the sight of him.

He took her hand. “Just Steven is a lot to handle too. Sorry Jeff couldn’t take it.”

“Me too,” she mumbled, and squeezed his hand hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hadithi doesn't do love triangles.


	23. Beach

He used to spend a lot of time alone on this beach.

The gems were busy. The townies were busy. The beach was empty.

He met her on this beach and it wasn’t so lonely anymore.

He tried to end their friendship on this beach. She didn’t let it happen.

He fused for the first time on this beach, and leapt into the sea beyond, and washed up on this beach as a mess of joy and giggles.

She left him on this beach after he left her in the ocean.

He took her with him on this beach, when it was time to really end it.

Garnet got married on this beach.

The gems were here. The townies were here. The beach was full.

Steven takes a deep breath and walks down the aisle on this beach, and never spends much time alone here again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's my husband's favorite. Tomorrow's is probably mine. <3


	24. Garden

Everyone always thought it was Steven’s garden. He was quick to explain it was Connie’s.

They worked on it together, of course. A garden as big as theirs was more work than one working person could handle, but Connie was the one who planned it out at the beginning of each season. The greenhouse in the back of their yard had a white board on it, and Connie’s tidy handwriting covered it in plotted rows - potatoes, corn, carrots, sunflowers, squash, peas. The greenhouse was full of tantalizing smells of sage and rosemary and thyme. A few of his pretty flowers were here and there, taking up little bits of space that she had insisted he have. She had seemed a little guilty for taking over the backyard.

But he didn’t mind at all. Everything they cooked (mostly he cooked) was delicious. When their crops were too much, they passed them out to the humans of Beach City and the few gems that ate and it was a great chance to catch up with people he might not have seen in a while. There was always frozen tomato sauce for a quick dinner, letting him whip up a batch of pasta after a long day that made Connie whisper I love you in a way that made him want to cry. There was always homemade jam and jelly in the pantry. There was always a reminder that Earth was alive and growing whenever he looked out the window.

“I could try my hand at some wheat,” she said thoughtfully, tapping the dry erase marker on her chin. “We could bake bread from it when we harvest at the end of spring. It’s boring, but it’s a staple crop for a reason.”

“We could bake biscuits. The homemade-est of Jam Bud time,” he suggested cheerfully, loving her with all his heart. She looked back at him, smiling, when her face suddenly went full of all kinds of emotion. She was blinking rapidly, holding back tears. He rushed to her, cradling her cheeks. “Connie? What’s wrong?”

“Sorry.” She waved her hand in front of her face and cleared her throat. “You were just looking at me like you really love me."

He grinned. “I _ do _ really love you." 

“Mmmhmm.” She wiped at her eyes. “Just, uh, makes me feel really lucky. Especially when I’m being a dork and growing our food like a crazy survivalist. Feels like something you don’t get loved for.”

He kissed her cheek. “You deserve to get loved for everything.”

“You too,” she said, her voice cracking as she embraced him. 

They planted wheat in the fall, and the biscuits were heaven in spring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is my favorite. I don't know why, exactly. Something about loving people for weird reasons, those moments when you love people so much that your heart swells up out of nowhere, and finding ways to make your life your own.
> 
> I like the picture this paints, I guess. I hope you do too.


	25. Connie's Birthday

Steven loved arranging parties and, once he discovered that Connie never bothered to throw birthdays for herself, he decided it was the perfect opportunity for him to give it a shot. He had missed a few already, and he was very busy with all the Diamond stuff, but he begged his family for help and they were all happy to chip in.

Garnet planned out a day with clear weather. Pearl laid out snacks. Amethyst set up speakers for music, and Greg brought records. Lapis and Peridot helped set up the decorations with minimal bickering, and Bismuth hammered out a little present from all of them. Lars brought a cake. Sadie brought a few movies for late night entertainment, mercifully picking out more adventurous ones so Steven wouldn’t spend the night cowered behind his hands. It wasn’t a huge party. He didn’t want to overwhelm her.

But he did.

He led her into the house, rousing only the slightest bit of suspicion from her with his terrible lies, and when everyone leapt out to yell surprise, he got roughly five seconds of battle stance Connie, a minute of very happy trying not try cry Connie, and then very embarrassed crying  _ a lot _ Connie. She alternated between apologies for her tears and thanking everyone profusely as she tried to calm down. Steven took her outside and helped her work through it, with a guilty little apology of his own for not thinking a surprise party through.

“No!” she gasped. “Don’t feel bad. Steven, I love it. I really love it!”

He brightened a little at that. “So, a warning next time?”

She nodded and giggled through tears. “That’ll work.”

It was a very fun party after that.


	26. Fight

“We should poof him just to check,” the Aventurine snickered.

And, suddenly, there was a sword at her throat. Diamond Steven’s pet human had pulled her weapon, and it was resting a hair’s width from Aventurine’s neck, just above her gem. There was nothing but cold rage in her eyes as the human hissed, “Take it back.”

Diamond Steven was there in an instant, laughing nervously. “Connie, it’s okay. They don’t really get the whole Steven doesn’t poof thing. It’s just a joke.”

“I’m not laughing.” The sword didn’t budge an inch, her eyes didn’t move away from Aventurine’s even for an instant.

The quartz swallowed, slowly raising her hands. However weak the human pet might have been, the sword was Bismuth forged. Poofing wasn’t fun, and the animal had a look in her eyes like she’d have a go at cracking her gem once she lost her form. She took a step back, and the human took a step forward, keeping the sword steady and ready to strike.

Aventurine murmured, “He’s right. It was a bad joke. I’m sorry.”

The sword twisted, going lengthwise so the human could step up to her with a protective snarl. She was on tiptoe, just to get into Aventurine's face. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect him. Don’t you dare touch my Steven.”

“I got it,” she muttered, breathing a sigh of relief as the sword finally dropped. “Nasty little organic, aren’t you?”

She suddenly found herself on the wrong side of a very long, very loud lecture from the newest Diamond, the roles reversed as his pet begged him to calm down and let it go. She took the scolding, thinking distantly that she’d much rather have gotten run through with the sword. She was going to have to tell the other quartzes to bite their tongues around these two. They seemed all too ready to pick a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm shipper trash and the "my Connie" line is one of my guilty faves. So here's an excuse for Connie to say, "my Steven" and be an adorable protective girl.


	27. Pining

"Okay, let's go over the list, Steven," Lars said patiently. "You're literally magic."

"Which is weird!" Steven groaned. "Lars, I'm so weird. My shapeshifting powers made super weird cat fingers and a cat body. I got stuck in the air forever. I trapped her in a bubble and made her think she was going to die three times in one day at least! My healing is spit is gross. I turned into a baby in front of her. I was eight for forever. I'm a freak!"

"You have magic kisses, can take her traveling across the world and the galaxy, and shapeshifting..." Lars narrowed his eyes at Steven suspiciously. "How old are you again?"

"Seventeen. Why?"

"We'll talk about it later," Lars said flatly. "Steven, your magic is one of the coolest things about you. You're basically a dream fantasy boyfriend for a nerd like Connie."

"Don't call her a nerd! And she could get way better guys than me." He groaned, slumped over the table. "Guys who don't have to run off to rule a terrible empire and make sure jerks from his mom's past don't destroy the earth."

"Steven, you're talking about being a superhero. Do you know what girls want with Captain America? It's not very platonic."

"Captain America is all buff and manly. What do I have going for me?"

"I'm not really into guys, but, I mean, you seem good?" Lars gestured vaguely to all of him. "You're fine? And you're kind of a rock star when you get on stage. I'm pretty sure you could seduce anyone you wanted with a guitar."

"No. That's all my dad," Steven sighed. "I don't even think Connie likes music that much. All I do is drag her into weird stuff and get her into trouble and put her in danger. She has to take care of me feeling bad all the time. She's always focused on me and my life, and I feel like I never help her the way I help everyone else, you know? She's smart and funny and strong and a great fighter and pretty and just... Perfect. I know she likes me, but I don't know why. I don't think she'll ever want to date me."

"Steven, she's a dork who learned how to swing a sword."

Steven glared. "She's not a dork."

"Dude, I watched her say itadakimasu before eating a donut. She's a dork with a sword. I'm pretty sure she's in love with you, and she's definitely in your league. You're a rich magical space prince with a heart of gold. You are the highest league. You can have anyone you want if you whip out your ukulele."

"I'm a weirdo who puts everyone in danger," he muttered, glaring at his iced tea. "She's never going to like me the way I like her."

* * *

"So, whenever I'm around him, it's like my brain breaks?" Connie said uncertainly to Pearl as they sat on the steps of the sky arena. "And now that he's tall, my brain double breaks? Whenever I want to do or say something, I'm just like 'Will Steven think this is cool?' and I only do things that Steven will think is cool. So I mostly just say snarky things and swing a sword?"

Pearl nodded, millenniums of experience in her eyes. "Yes, I understand completely."

"Because he's really strong and nice and, okay, I said nice, but I mean... Not just nice. He's the most empathetic, charitable person in the whole world. I don't even tell him about big stuff in my life because everyone already asks everything from him and he gives so much. I can't tell him my problems and make him sad, you know?" she rambled.

"Of course. She, I mean, he's already dealing with so much it feels cruel to add to the burden. Being a Diamond is no small responsibility." Pearl quickly amended, "You can, of course. He cares for you very deeply and I know you help him through his problems all the time." 

"Mmm," Connie said, sounding a little skeptical. "But the only reason he's even with me is because he hasn't figured out that he's the most wanted guy in Beach City. He's a rock star and a magical boy and he's so soft and if we got married I could be a warrior queen who gets to play politics all day, which is the dream, you know? Who wouldn't want that?"

Pearl chuckled. "I think you may be surprised at the number of people unwilling to throw themselves into danger and dream of being in the center of complex, millennia old political games."

"Mmm," Connie said again, more skeptical this time. "Anyway, I don't think he's going to agree to date me, so I'm just going to keep giving him platonic cheek kisses and holding his hand and settling for the fact that I'm going to die alone."

Pearl frowned. "I feel like I've lost control of this conversation. Connie, weren't you just trying to explain why you wanted to take the grappling hook with you?"

"Oh, right! I'm sorry, Pearl." She nodded. "I'm pretty sure if I grappling hook off the wrecking ball in Little Homeworld, Steven will think I'm really cool. So, can I borrow it or...?" Pearl was staring, and Connie nodded to herself slowly. "Right. Of course not. Good talk, Pearl."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always feel a little odd writing them pining, because I feel like the show isn't going to have a lot of teenage "what are we? How do ask on date?" kind of moments. Buuuuut, I don't think the show is going to say that it specifically DIDN'T happen, so I will continue writing awkward teens to my heart's content.


	28. Baking

Connie could follow a recipe, but she couldn't cook anything on her own. Steven had tried to teach her a few times, but the knowledge always seemed to elude her. She didn't love food the way he did, her mind instead always turning towards the practical. Her fingers would flick at her side as she added up calories and nutrients on and imaginary abacus, and used that to determine the best things to make herself.

Steven did most of the cooking when they were left to fend for themselves. Connie's meals would too often be grilled chicken breast with roasted vegetables, which was fine, but Steven liked a little more excitement in his life. He had his normal lazy meals, but he loved to find exciting things to try. He made elaborate curries, rich stews, fancy Italian pastas and exciting Ethiopian cuisine, and Connie appreciated all of those. He loved the happy look on her face with every spoonful of his creations. Connie could make many of these things, in theory, but she always had to be prompted and pushed.

Because Connie  _ could _ follow a recipe, or instructions. And that made baking very fun. It was a experiment in teamwork outside of combat, with Steven taking the lead. As long as he was specific, Connie got it done, and most of the busy work in cooking vanished.

“Can you sift the flour while I measure sugar?” he asked.

“Go it!” she replied, and happily took over.

When she was done with that and he was scrubbing a bowl clean, he asked, “Could you powder the dry strawberries?”

She hesitated. “Hammer?”

He giggled. “Food processor.”

Back to smiling. “Yup! I can do that.”

It was nice to have someone just follow orders eagerly. There was no patient, “Steven, are you sure?” like when he worked with Pearl. There was no attempt to shove in weird ingredients like with Amethyst. And, unlike Garnet, Connie wore her enthusiasm on her sleeve and loved eating the result.

They enjoyed strawberry cupcakes that they had made from scratch, from a recipe he thought up all on his own, and he asked her nervously, “Do you mind when I take charge like that? I don’t want to be bossy. I mean, I don’t think that I’m smarter than you or like I should always be in charge.”

“I know,” she said. “Sometimes you’re better at stuff, so you’re in charge. Sometimes I’m better at stuff, so I’m in charge. You know, like when we’re Stevonnie.”

He grinned. “You really don’t mind if I’m the leader sometimes?”

“Nope! That’s teamwork.” She tapped her cupcake against his like a toast. “Clink! And for what it’s worth, I think you make a great leader.”

He blushed and smiled to himself. A great leader. Maybe he could handle this Diamond stuff after all.


	29. Hand Holding

“You guys aren’t together?” Peedee asked, looking genuinely confused as the two walked up to the newly repaired fry stand, fixed after Spinel’s brief reign of terror. There wasn’t the slightest bit of teasing in his voice as he continued, “But you’re always hanging out and holding hands.”

“We’re not  _ always _ holding hands,” Connie argued.

Peedee pointed down, and they glanced to where their hands were cupped at that very moment.

“Huh,” Steven said. “I didn’t even notice.”

“Yeah, because you’re always holding hands. You’re seriously not dating?” He gestured wildly to where their hands were still locked together. “You’re not even letting go! You’re not even acting weird about it! This really seems like dating stuff!”

Connie shrugged. “Just best friend stuff. We like holding hands.”

“It’s comfy,” Steven agreed.

“Don’t you think it’s a little, you know, intimate?” he pressed.

“Mmm, no. But I know what is.” Connie grinned and whistled a little tune, moving to dip Steven. He fell back happily, and a few blinding moments later Stevonnie was leaning over the counter.

“When you share a whole body on the regular, hand holding isn’t really a big deal.” Stevonnie tapped their finger against their chin. “Can we get half bits, half fries, and we’ll pay like it’s a full fry?”

Peedee’s eyes filled with tears at the thought of finally receiving compensation for serving up fry bits, all thoughts of Steven and Connie’s relationship banished to a before time, a bad place where getting paid for fry bits never happened. He took their hands in his and whispered, “I love you.”

Stevonnie smirked. “Yeah. I get that a lot. Sooooo… fries?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in the middle of a 22 hour drive, posting this from my phone. I'll get all of connvember done if it kills me.


	30. Free Day

They named their baby Lakshmi and called her Lucky for short, and she was an early talker. At eight months, the temple was filled with “mamamamamamamamama”in between giggles and babbling gibberish. At nine months, she changes it up with “dadadadadadadadada” in between the mas, and she knew who those words referred to. It made it extra hard to leave the house when sad little arms were stretching from her auntie’s arms and whining for the correct parent.

Her third word, “Mada” came around the same time. She seemed to know who it referred to, though it was a bit of a struggle. Garbled pronunciations for the rest of the gems came soon after that, and Mada didn’t make its triumphant return until Lucky was nearly two years old and still a very, very advanced talker.

Steven held her on his knee, bouncing her as everyone clustered around the table for board game night. It was parcheesi, so that there were no complicated rule explanations to be had, because the constant chatter at the table was a tiny voice insisting, “madamadamadamadamadamada” in an endless, shaky drone from her father’s bouncing knee.

Peridot groaned. “Just _ fuse _.”

Lucky squealed with delight and threw up her arms. She knew that word too. “Mada!”

“If we fused every time she asked, we’d never unfuse.” Connie rolled her dice and smirked as her piece took Peridot’s, knocking her back to home. “Stevonnie is her favorite parent. They don’t give timeouts. They don’t say no to ice cream. They’re always happy to be around.”

Steven grinned, scooping Lucky into his arms and tickling her belly. Over squealing giggles he teased, “Madamadamada! You’re hurting Daddy’s feelings.” He stopped to let her breathe. “Who’s your favorite gem?”

“Mada!” she said through lingering laughter.

Steven gasped. “I can’t believe it. Mommy, are you hearing this?”

“I can’t believe it, Daddy.” She ruffled Lucky’s hair. “I’m so jealous.”

“You could fuse as a disciplinarian,” Peridot suggested. “That’ll make the competition for best parent more fair.”

Steven laughed. “What? No! Stevonnie should be the fun parent. They’re our love. The best parts of us. Lucky’s just too little to understand why best parent Mada can’t be around all the time.”

“Rollrollroll,” Lucky muttered, clumsily picking up and dropping dice on the table. The rest of the Crystal Gems breathed a sigh of relief as the game continued on with a break from the old chant.

“Why _ can’t _ Stevonnie be around all the time? Garnet does it,” Peridot asked.

Connie shrugged. “We have stuff to do. Places to be. Our lives overlap a lot, but not all the time. I like my privacy and so does Steven. A lot of little things. A few big things. But our relationship works best when we fuse because we’re really happy, or really in love.”

“Or for a really, really cute outfit,” Steven sighed dreamily.

Connie grinned. “Yeah. Fusion is also great for stupid stuff. It’s either an epic moment of incredible love or because we want to cosplay.”

“I said outfit. Why is it cosplay now?”

“I have some ideas for the next anime convention,” Connie said, beaming. “Anyway, that’s it. Only two reasons.”

“And so I can watch scary movies without getting too scared.”

Connie giggled. “Three reasons! End of list!”

“Or so you can watch a romantic movie and figure out who’s going to kiss without being shocked.”

“Four reasons, and how dare you?”

“Madamadamadamadamadamada.”

“Okay. I’m in the mood now. Hold this.” He laughed and handed Lucky to Pearl, who crooned eagerly and nuzzled the chanting toddler. Steven held out his hand to Connie. “Dance with me?”

“But I was winning!” she pouted. “We have to play my spot.”

He shrugged. “Cool. I was losing anyway.”

Connie grinned as she stood, taking his hand with a twirl. Even that was enough for Lucky, who shrieked with delight so loud the couple stopped their dance for a moment to giggle helplessly against one another. But, in all their years together, that was plenty. Without another step, they fused, and Stevonnie snapped up the delighted baby.

“Mada!” Her legs and arms flailed with glee.

They sat down at Connie’s place and set Lucky on their lap. “Hey, baby girl. You missed me that bad?” They kissed her forehead. “Are you going to be good and quiet and a happy baby now?”

Lucky’s hand slapped against her parent’s breast. “Hungry.”

Stevonnie closed their eyes, half laughing and half groaning. “Of course you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so much fun doing these! I can't believe the month is over already. I wanted to point out a few other people making a go at it. If you liked these, check them out! 
> 
> Rougish_crow: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21393121/chapters/50964529
> 
> Literally_a_dinosaur: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21538438/chapters/51344539
> 
> Luccie_eclair: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21308755/chapters/50743636

**Author's Note:**

> If you wanna try it out, here!
> 
> [Connvember Prompts](https://mauvue.tumblr.com/post/188754523520/i-saw-stevineltober-going-around-so-i-decided-to)


End file.
